I just want to take a realistic look now, now that we have enough distance.

Every issue, the characters and I duke it out. They usually win.

I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland in 1988 and there was just one year where suddenly all of the delivery kids that used to be boys were suddenly girls. It happened at our church too. Altar boys were suddenly altar girls. There was just this sense that all these young women knew there were openings here to be the first of their kind.

It's TV shows like 'Buffy' and 'Angel' that usually have an incredible cliffhanger every commercial break that amaze me.

If a good editor will let me tell my story with the right artist, I'm happy.

Fans of my books have just been supremely nice.

These are the young women [in Stand by Me] that we grew up knowing and hopefully they feel a little rough around the edges, because it's true to life.